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- W. C. VON BUCHWALD.

METHOD 0F MAKING SMOGKING. l N'o. 422,268. Patented Feb. 25, 1890A.

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YIIIIIII." 1271* YIIIII IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII. 'IIIII UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM C. VON BUOHVVALD, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FRANK A. BYRAIWI, OF SAME PLACE.

METHOD oF MA'KlNe sMooKlNc.

SPECIFICATION forming part of YLetters Patent No. 422,268, dated January 25, 1890. Application filed April l5, 1889. Serial No. 307,306. (No modeL) To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM C. VON BUCH- WALD, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, have invented certain Improvements in Sewing Smock-Work, of which the following is a specification.

The object of ,my invention is to so effect the sewing operation known as smocking Io that it can be performed with facility upon a sewing-machine without requiring the exercise of any particular skill on the part of the operator, and this object I attain in the mannar hereinafter set forth, reference being had I 5 to the accompanying drawings, in which-- Figures l, 2, 3,and 4 are diagrams on an exaggerated scale, representing the method of carrying out my invention. Fig. 5 is a View of the fabric after the performance of the first 2o step of the process, as in Fig. l; and Fig. 6 is a view of the fabric after the performance of the second step of the process, as in Fig. 2.

The work known as smocking or smockwork consists of raised plaits or wales of 2 5 fabric having the upper edges of adjoining plaits sewed together at intervals, the sewing, however, being rather in the nature of tacking than ordinary sewing, as there is at each point of connection of the plaits or wales only 3o a few closely-bunched stitches, the points of connection in one row being midway, or thereabout, between the points of connection in adjoining rows, so that a cellular or honeycomb-like effect is produced. I-Ieretofore this 3 5 class of work has generally been produced by hand, although in an application for patent filed by me on the 5th day of February, 1889,

Serial No. 298,705, I described a machine for producing this class of work. tion, however, this machine followed the usual practice--that is to say,the stitches were formed at the crowns of the plaits and 011 the face of the Work, the thread floating from one bunch of stitches to the next, and these oating threads being afterward trimmed. off. I find, however, that a much simpler method of producing this class of work is to reverse the usual method of operation, the sewing being eected from the back and the bases of 5o successively -formed folds or plaits being In its operaj tacked together at the appropriate intervals, for the bases of the plaits on the back of the fabric are the crowns or tops of the plaits on the face; hence while the fabric presents on the face the same appearance as ordinary hand-smocking the oating threads between the different points of connection are on the back of the fabric, and hence do not lhave to be trimmed o ff as before, the work in this respect exactly resembling the ordinary hand- 6o work.

My process can be carried out upon any sewing-machine having provision for holding down the plaits and imparting a slight toand-fro movement to the work or to the needle, so as toform theA closely-bunched series of stitches necessary for tacking the successive plaits together, the machine shown in my former application being available for the purpose by simply lengthening the pressing- 7o finger of the guide and providing the latter with an adjustable gage a to regulate the depth of plait, as shown, for instance, in Fig. 1.

The method of carrying out my invention will be more clearly understood on reference to the various views of the drawings.

The fabric is firstdoubled, as shown at in Fig. l, and stitches fw are formed at such a distance from the folded edge as the desired 8o depth of plait or Wale to be produced may suggest, the stitches passing through but two thicknesses of fabric instead of through four thicknesses, as in sewing adjoining plaits together at the crown in the usual manner, 8 5 After the first bunch of stitches has been completed the fabric is moved along the proper distance for the formation of the neXt bunch, this distance being determined by the length of cell which the smock-work is to present. 9o After the desired number of successive bunches of stitches have been thus formed the fabric is again folded at a` point farther in advance, as shown at fr? in Fig. 2, the first fold or plait fr being turned back out of the way, so as to permit the successive formation of the properly-spaced bunches of stitches 'm2 at the base of this second fold or plait, in the same manner as they were formed at the base of the first fold or plait, the bunches of loo stitches of the second fold, however, being located midway, or thereabout,between the stitches of the first fold. The third fold x3 is then formed at a point still farther in advance, as shown in Fig. 3, and this fold or plait is stitched together at its base, these stitches w3 being in line with those of the first fold. After this fold has been stitched together at the proper points a fourth fold 004 is formed, and the base of this fold is stitched together at the points 104, which are in line with the stitches 102 of the second fold, and the operation is thus repeated indefinitely, the points of connection of the fifth fold being in line with those of the first and third, and the points of connection of the sixth fold being in line with those of the second and fourth, and so on until the desired number of folds have been made.

It will be evident that by this method the manipulation of the material is a very simple one, such as can be performed by a sewingmachine operator without the exercise of any particular or special skill, the work being` complete when the sewing operation is cornpleted, as no subsequent trimming of the work is required.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent- The mode herein described of producing the work known as smocking, said mode consisting in forming a fold or fabric, stitching the two thicknesses of the material of said fold together at the base at properly-spaced points, turning back this fold and forming another fold in advance of the same, stitching the two thicknesses of material of this second fold together at the base at points midway between the stitches of the preceding fold, and so on with successive folds, whereby when the work is reversed the bases of the folds become the crowns of the plaits, and one thickness of each plait is stitched to one thickness of each adjoining plait adjacent to the crown of the same, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

VILLIAM C. VON BUCHVALD.v

Witnesses:

WILLIAM D. CONNER, HARRY. SMITH. 

